What is XYO Network?
The XYO Network is an ecosystem of devices that communicate with one another to provide an unalterable, blockchain-based history of locations and interactions. Users can track any item connected to the network and verify that it was in a specific place, at a specific time. By doing this, XYO Network is attempting to “displace” and “decentralize” GPS as we know it. It uses a “proof of location” technology called GEO to insure the privacy of item data and the assure that it can only be accessed by permissioned users.
Current use cases for which XYO Network is currently being employed include eCommerce, medical care and hospitals, rental car agencies, commercial airline luggage logistics, insurance agencies, and national security. Users who allow their hardware trackers to communicate with the network are rewarded in denominations of their native token (XYO), which is also used to purchase services provided by the network.
History of XYO Network
The origins of the XYO (which stands for XY Oracle) Network were first developed in 2015, by the tracking services company XY, founded by Arie Trouw. The development team is comprised of a number of software, hardware and blockchain experts who work together to bridge location-based services with the blockchain.
XY had already rolled out over a million location finding devices driven by GPS and cellular services, which it then interconnected through a series of smart contracts on the Ethereum network. In November, the first official XYO Network transaction was conducted live, on stage, when the team demonstrated their product functionality by landing a drone next to their CEO using their patented location data technology.
In December 2018, XYO Network completed the gamma stage of the token sale and launched their mainnet, claiming to have received proposals from 10 leading exchanges as of early that month.
How XYO Network Works
The XYO Network is attempting to solve a novel problem: how to execute smart contracts based on locational data. Basically, the point of the project is to decentralize location-based services by allowing someone the ability to track the movement of an item by calling up a smart contract.
The network itself is essentially a series of Ethereum-based smart contracts to which a permissioned user can access in order to use its location information services. It is divided into four components: sentinels (hardware-based nodes that relay information about an item’s specific location), bridges (sends tracking information), archivist (stores logs of tracking information) and diviners (accesses tracking information from archivists upon demand and reports it back to the smart contract).
Why XYO Network?
As far as Ethereum-based projects are concerned, XYO Network is quite different from all others in that it is attempting to decentralize the location-based services industry while keeping user data private and their access to the network secured. Some of the advantages it provides over traditional services in this industry include:
- Smart contract based.
- Decentralized.
- Secured by the Ethereum blockchain.
- Free from the costs and interference of middlemen.